Abstract
The invention relates to a bandage for use on the human or animal body, the bandage comprising a fiber-containing material. At least one longitudinal end of said material is provided with a neatened edge and additionally has a zone that contains an information element. The invention further relates to a method for producing a bandage of the above type.
Claims
1. A bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) for placing on the human or animal body, composed of a fiber-containing material comprising a sheet-like band material having a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction as well as two transverse edges which are situated opposite in the longitudinal direction and two longitudinal edges which are situated opposite in the transverse direction, wherein the bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) has a first region (13, 23, 33, 53, 63) which adjoins a transverse edge lying in the longitudinal direction, and wherein the bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) has a second region (15, 25, 35, 54, 66), wherein the first region (13, 23, 33, 53, 63) has a layer containing fibers which are covered at least partially with a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated at least partially with a thermoplastic material, and wherein, the second region has a first and a second layer, wherein the first layer contains fibers which are covered at least partially with a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated at least partially with a thermoplastic material, and the second layer consists of a non-thermoplastic material, wherein the second layer comprises an information element (14, 24, 34, 57, 64).
2. The bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) of claim 1, wherein the information element incorporated in the second layer of the second region is a code which specifies a uniform resource locator of an Internet site that contains use-specific information and/or technical data relating to the bandage.
3. The bandage (10, 50) as claimed in claim 2, wherein the code is a two-dimensional matrix code (14, 57).
4. The bandage (20) of claim 1, wherein the information element incorporated in the second layer of the second region is an RFID transponder (24).
5. The bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) of claim 1, wherein the information element incorporated in the second layer of the second region has a first and a second ply, wherein the first ply constitutes the outer ply arranged on the outer side of the bandage, and wherein the first ply comprises a substance which can be modified or destroyed in a physical or chemical process, and wherein the second ply comprises a substance which cannot be destroyed in the same physical or chemical process, wherein the first and the second ply have different colors, which can easily be perceived as different by the human eye.
6. The bandage (30) of claim 1, wherein the bandage (30) is stretchable and the second layer of the second region (34) consists of an elastically stretchable material and the incorporated information element is a stretch indicator (34).
7. The bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) of claim 1, wherein the fiber-containing material comprises a woven fabric, a knitted fabric, a crocheted fabric or a nonwoven material.
8. The bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) of claim 1, wherein the thermoplastic materials incorporated in the first and in the second region are identical materials.
9. The bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) of claim 1, wherein the non-thermoplastic materials incorporated in the first and in the second region are identical materials.
10. The bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) of claim 1, wherein the first region has a width of from 6 to 20 mm.
11. The bandage (10, 20, 30, 50, 60) of claim 1, wherein the second region (15, 25, 35, 54, 66) is connected to the first region (13, 23, 33, 53, 63).
12. A method for producing a bandage as claimed claim 1, comprising the steps of: a) providing a bandage band (40a) composed of a fiber-containing material, b) providing a first material composed of at least two layers, the first layer of which consists of a thermoplastic material and the second layer of which consists of a non-thermoplastic material, c) providing a second material composed of at least two layers, the first layer of which consists of a thermoplastic material and the second layer of which consists of a non-thermoplastic material, d) applying the mentioned first material to a first region, e) applying the mentioned second material to a second region, f) exposing the first and the second region to a pressure of at least 1.5 bar and a temperature of 60-300° C., g) transporting the bandage band (40a) to a measuring, winding and cutting-to-length device, and h) severing the bandage band (40a) within the first region from one longitudinal edge to the other longitudinal edge.
13. The method of claim 12, wherein step f) is carried out at a temperature of from 178° C. to 220° C., a pressure of from 4 bar to 6 bar and a contact time of from 1.5 s to 4 s.
Description
[0073] Specific configurations of the present invention are illustrated in more detail below on the basis of FIGS. 1 to 6.
[0074] FIG. 1 schematically shows a bandage according to the invention, in which the information element contains a QR code.
[0075] FIG. 2 schematically shows a bandage according to the invention, in which the information element contains an RFID transponder.
[0076] FIG. 3 schematically shows a bandage according to the invention, in which the information element contains a geometric symbol as stretch indicator.
[0077] FIG. 4 schematically shows a method for producing a bandage according to the invention.
[0078] FIG. 5 shows a portion of an intermediate product produced by a method according to the invention.
[0079] FIG. 6 shows a portion of a further intermediate product produced by a method according to the invention.
[0080] FIG. 1 shows a bandage (10) according to the invention which is wound up on a roll (12). The bandage comprises a fiber-containing bandage material (11). Present on the outer end of the bandage is a region (13) which comprises a cut-edge fixing means. This region (13) contains fibers which are covered at least partially with a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated with a thermoplastic material. The bandage (10) has a second region (15) different from the first region of the cut edge (13). Said second region comprises a first and a second layer. The first layer contains fibers which are covered at least partially with thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated with a thermoplastic material. The second layer comprises a non-thermoplastic material and contains an information element in the form of a QR code (14).
[0081] FIG. 2 shows a bandage (20) according to the invention, which is wound up on a roll (22). The bandage comprises a fiber-containing bandage material (21). Present on the outer edge of the bandage is a region (23) which comprises a cut-edge fixing means. This region (23) contains fibers which are covered at least partially with a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated with a thermoplastic material. The bandage (20) has a second region (25) different from the first region of the cut edge (23). Said second region comprises a first and a second layer. The first layer contains fibers which are covered at least partially with thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated with a thermoplastic material. The second layer comprises a non-thermoplastic material and contains an information element in the form of an RFID transponder (24).
[0082] FIG. 3 shows a bandage (30) according to the invention which is wound up on a roll (32). The bandage comprises a fiber-containing bandage material (31). Present on the outer end of the bandage is a region (33) which comprises a cut-edge fixing means. This region (33) contains fibers which are covered at least partially with a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated with a thermoplastic material. The bandage (30) has a plurality of second regions (35) different from the first region of the cut edge (33). Said second regions comprise a first and a second layer. The first layer contains fibers which are covered at least partially with thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated with a thermoplastic material. The second layer comprises a non-thermoplastic material and contains an information element in the form of a geometric symbol in the form of a diamond (34). The diamond is configured such that it is pulled during stretching of the bandage (30) and assumes the form of a square during ideal stretching.
[0083] FIG. 4 schematically shows a method according to the invention for producing a bandage according to the invention. A bandage band (40a) composed of a fiber-containing material is conducted to a printing unit (45). The printing unit (45) has a heated pressing punch (46) and is loaded with a roll of a carrier material (47), on which roll a multilayer material (48) referred to as heat transfer is deposited in a repeating sequence. The heated pressing punch (46) presses the carrier material (47) onto the bandage band (40a) such that a layer of the heat transfer (48) composed of a thermoplastic material comes directly into contact with the surface of the bandage band (40a). By virtue of the temperature present in the pressing punch (46) and the applied pressure, the thermoplastic material of the heat transfer (48) is brought into a plastically deformable state and delivered into the material of the bandage band (40a) such that fibers of the bandage band (40a) are covered at least partially with thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated with thermoplastic material. The now printed bandage band (40b) is conducted to a measuring, winding and cutting-to-length device (not shown).
[0084] FIG. 5 shows a detail of a bandage (50) according to the invention which has a first region (53) and a second region (54). The first region (53) is severed in a cutting-to-length device (not shown) along a cutting line (55) from the one longitudinal side to the other longitudinal side, such that subsequently the first region (53) encompasses a first partial region (53a), which constitutes an end fixing means at the end of the bandage, and a second partial region (53b), which constitutes an end fixing means at the start of the bandage. In the present case, both the first and the second partial region (53a, 53b) contain an inscription which is applied to a layer containing fibers which are covered at least partially by a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated at least partially with a thermoplastic material. On the top side of the inscription, the entire first region (53) contains a layer of a varnish composed of a single-component polyurethane based on an aliphatic diisocyanate. The detail has a second region (54) which contains an information element in the form of a graphic illustration (56) and a QR code (57). The second region (54) contains a layer with fibers which are covered at least partially by a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated at least partially with a thermoplastic material. Arranged directly on this layer is a color layer which contains both a graphic illustration (56) and a QR code (57). This layer contains dyes and a single-component polyester polyurethane based on an aromatic diisocyanate. On the top side of this layer, the entire second region (54) contains a layer of a varnish composed of a single-component polyurethane based on an aliphatic diisocyanate.
[0085] FIG. 6 shows a detail of a bandage (60) according to the invention which has a first region (63) and a second region (64). The first region (63) is severed in a cutting-to-length device (not shown) along a cutting line (65) from the one longitudinal side to the other longitudinal side, such that subsequently the first region (63) encompasses a first partial region (63a), which constitutes an end fixing means at the end of the bandage, and a second partial region (63b), which constitutes an end fixing means at the start of the bandage. In the present case, both the first and the second partial region (63a, 63b) contain an inscription which is applied to a layer containing fibers which are covered at least partially by a thermoplastic material or the interspaces of which are impregnated at least partially with a thermoplastic material. On the top side of the inscription, the entire first region (63) contains a layer of a varnish composed of a single-component polyurethane based on an aliphatic diisocyanate. The detail has a second region (66) which contains an information element in the form of a white color layer (64), the white dye of which can have a batch number applied to it in a further process step using a laser (not shown).
